THE HYENA IN MY FATHER'S SLIPPERS__DAILY PROMPT 10TH OCT

The hyena came to my compound again last night.

Everyone in my village knows my hyena. I raised him since he was a cub. His name is Bingo. He has one broken ear and he laughs like my late uncle when he's drunk.

But last night, the hyena at my gate was not Bingo.

It was bigger. Darker. Its eyes were red. And it was wearing my father's slippers.

I said "Bingo? Is that you?"

It laughed. But that isn't my hyena's laugh. My hyena's laugh is "kikikiki." This one laughed "GBIM GBIM GBIM" like a generator.

I carried stick and came closer. I noticed three things.

One, it was not eating meat. It was eating my NEPA bill. Chewing the paper.

Two, it had a phone in its mouth. My small Itel phone I lost last week.

Three, when I shouted "Bingo come!", it answered in English: "I am not Bingo, I am your landlord."

I ran inside and locked door.

This morning I told my mother. She said "Ah! You saw him too? That's not a hyena. That's Baba Nkechi's husband. He turned to hyena since 2019 because he borrowed money from native doctor and didn't pay."

Now I understand. That isn't my hyena. That is a debtor hyena.

Tonight I will keep my gate open. But I will keep my father's slippers inside. Let's see how he will walk without slippers.

IMAGE IS AI GENERATED